Are We Alex McLeish's Claret & Blue Army Now?

[brian green]

Whenever we get around to the topic of booing on these threads I feel obliged to make the point that booing is the emotional alternative to cheering.   If something at a game pleases and excites you you cheer if something displeases and angers you you boo.

Booing is a perfectly harmless and innocent activity expressing dissatisfaction.

Racism, sexism, homophobia - they are very different matters but at the final whistle of the Swansea game to expostulate "Booooo!   That was a load of rubbish Villa!" is in my opinion an acceptable and very normal way of making a point.

[PaulWinch again]

Whenever we get around to the topic of booing on these threads I feel obliged to make the point that booing is the emotional alternative to cheering.   If something at a game pleases and excites you you cheer if something displeases and angers you you boo.

Booing is a perfectly harmless and innocent activity expressing dissatisfaction.

Racism, sexism, homophobia - they are very different matters but at the final whistle of the Swansea game to expostulate "Booooo!   That was a load of rubbish Villa!" is in my opinion an acceptable and very normal way of making a point.

Completely agree, and every fan had the right to be dissatisfied with that display.

[adrenachrome]

Yeah, I'd say your standard 4-4-2 is quite a negative tactic.

And never in a million years is N'Zogbia a left midfield player, certainly not with bloody Warnock behind him anyway.

That way certain disaster and pains in the scrota lie.

[Ad@m]

That's rubbish, Adam. You're basically saying that 4-4-2 is the only way to pay an attacking team when in reality hardly anyone dies it these days.

Ah, Chris Smith and your standard respectful debating style.  It's been a while.

You're just showing yourself to be as tactically narrow-minded as MON was.  I'm not at all saying 442 is the only way to play.  To give you an extreme example, Barcelona, the most attacking team in the world in my opinion play 3 up front.  We could've quite easily gone with three up front against Swansea on Monday by telling Gabby and CNZ to push further up the field and trouble their defence.  Instead they spent the majority of the game so close to our full backs they could've held hands with them.  Also, how often do you see our full backs overlapping these days?  Under MON they were overlapping all the time as we pushed teams back.

They've clearly been told to not be too adventurous; a safety first mentality.  Not the best tactic for scoring goals.

[KevinGage]

Whenever we get around to the topic of booing on these threads I feel obliged to make the point that booing is the emotional alternative to cheering.   If something at a game pleases and excites you you cheer if something displeases and angers you you boo.

Booing is a perfectly harmless and innocent activity expressing dissatisfaction.

Racism, sexism, homophobia - they are very different matters but at the final whistle of the Swansea game to expostulate "Booooo!   That was a load of rubbish Villa!" is in my opinion an acceptable and very normal way of making a point.

Absolutely.

And -whats more-  have any of these 'get behind the lads' requests on an internet messageboard worked? Ever?  Or for that matter, the polar opposite- lets all boo?

I suppose you could point to some of the gimmicks used like free scarves and flags -or in the case of Blackburn Rovers the after match protests. But the in game atmosphere will generally reflect what goes on on the pitch. Much harder to manipulate.  Unless less the match is in Pyongyang.

[brian green]

The real Kevin Gage's name has just been listed in a big black book somewhere in North Korea.

[nick harper]

That's rubbish, Adam. You're basically saying that 4-4-2 is the only way to pay an attacking team when in reality hardly anyone dies it these days.

Ah, Chris Smith and your standard respectful debating style.  It's been a while.

You're just showing yourself to be as tactically narrow-minded as MON was.  I'm not at all saying 442 is the only way to play.  To give you an extreme example, Barcelona, the most attacking team in the world in my opinion play 3 up front.  We could've quite easily gone with three up front against Swansea on Monday by telling Gabby and CNZ to push further up the field and trouble their defence.  Instead they spent the majority of the game so close to our full backs they could've held hands with them.  Also, how often do you see our full backs overlapping these days?  Under MON they were overlapping all the time as we pushed teams back.

They've clearly been told to not be too adventurous; a safety first mentality.  Not the best tactic for scoring goals.

Barcelona's whole philosophy is to win the ball back as quickly as possible. Those front free are therefore their first line of defence and the team aims to win the ball back in the opposition's half.

McLeish could have adopted that strategy against Swansea but are tactics were too conservative and you need a high level of fitness- it was frustrating to watch them pass the ball in their own half with only Bent for company.

[dazzyg]

I wonder if the fans who think McLEISH is doing a good job actually go to Villa Park.......... because everyone I speak to and there are many people no one seems to be in favour of him......... and to the fans who have made comments regarding my posts.......... if a fan wants to boo who says I am wrong to do so?

[NeilH]

There is a visible tension amongst the players when playing at home and McLeish is displaying all the signs of a manager who is too afraid to lose for fear of the reaction from the home fans. Given the fact that any reasonable person knows full well that McLeish is going absolutely nowhere right now and you’ve already paid for your season ticket what is the point in booing and making a bad situation even worse?
Put yourself in the shoes of our players and ask yourself what you are most likely to respond to, 20,000 Holtenders booing and calling you a wanker or 90 minutes of support?

[The Laughing Policeman]

Deleted.
Keyboard letters are all in the wrong order.

[Chris Smith]

That's rubbish, Adam. You're basically saying that 4-4-2 is the only way to pay an attacking team when in reality hardly anyone dies it these days.

Ah, Chris Smith and your standard respectful debating style.  It's been a while.

You're just showing yourself to be as tactically narrow-minded as MON was.  I'm not at all saying 442 is the only way to play.  To give you an extreme example, Barcelona, the most attacking team in the world in my opinion play 3 up front.  We could've quite easily gone with three up front against Swansea on Monday by telling Gabby and CNZ to push further up the field and trouble their defence.  Instead they spent the majority of the game so close to our full backs they could've held hands with them.  Also, how often do you see our full backs overlapping these days?  Under MON they were overlapping all the time as we pushed teams back.

They've clearly been told to not be too adventurous; a safety first mentality.  Not the best tactic for scoring goals.

Again, that's rubbish. You've got a position and you manipulate the facts to suit it. There was nothing safety first about our display on Monday, we were on the front foot for the majority of the game but after a bright first half, whether through tiredness or lack of ideas, we ran out of steam as the game went on.

4-3-3 and 4-5-1 are two sides of the same coin. When you're going forward it is the former and when defending it's the latter.

Barcelona play a unique style where they hunt in packs and press high up the pitch and with a very fluid attitude to formation with players interchanging constantly. Using possibly the best team the world has ever seen as a comparator is not particularly helpful.

[SheffieldVillain]

I wonder if the fans who think McLEISH is doing a good job actually go to Villa Park.......... because everyone I speak to and there are many people no one seems to be in favour of him......... and to the fans who have made comments regarding my posts.......... if a fan wants to boo who says I am wrong to do so?

If you want to boo, fill your boots. I doubt that anybody cares if you continuously boo for the whole game, including your journeys to and from the ground. But please stop the 'if you don't agree with me you're not a real fan / you're a Bluenose / you don't go to the game' bollocks.

Also, do you not understand that it's possible to have an opinion somewhere in the middle of McLeish doing a good job or doing a shit job? For example that he's got somethings right but some wrong and should be given a bit more time. Or that you would like him gone but realise that in the current climate that isn't going to happen so as a Villa fan you will support him and the team anyway.

[Concrete John]

It was also hard to get fullbacks overlapping against Swansea when one was a CB and the other had a good winger up aginst him.

[villajk]

I wonder if the fans who think McLEISH is doing a good job actually go to Villa Park.......... because everyone I speak to and there are many people no one seems to be in favour of him......... and to the fans who have made comments regarding my posts.......... if a fan wants to boo who says I am wrong to do so?

If you want to boo, fill your boots. I doubt that anybody cares if you continuously boo for the whole game, including your journeys to and from the ground. But please stop the 'if you don't agree with me you're not a real fan / you're a Bluenose / you don't go to the game' bollocks.

Also, do you not understand that it's possible to have an opinion somewhere in the middle of McLeish doing a good job or doing a shit job? For example that he's got somethings right but some wrong and should be given a bit more time. Or that you would like him gone but realise that in the current climate that isn't going to happen so as a Villa fan you will support him and the team anyway.

Well said sheffieldVillain.

[pauliewalnuts]

It was also hard to get fullbacks overlapping against Swansea when one was a CB and the other had a good winger up aginst him.

I bet Warnock couldn't wait for that game to end. Dyer took the piss out of him all afternoon.

Impressed with him.